Rare photos for a rare FJ unit distinctive insignea

[JYN]

Hi all Comet enthusiasts !

What we know about the Comet insignea ?

1) The Comet was the distinctive of an elite raiding unit, the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment. 1 or LL-Sturm-Rgt. under the command of Generalmajor Meindl. On the 20th of May 1941, the regiment was used in the first wave of Operation Mercury (Merkur). Some photos which have been taken after the battle are showing some paratroopers with a Comet painted on their tropical allied pith helmet.

2) An example of this insignea has been shown in the Robert Kurtz' book "German Paratroopers", page 134 (C. Mason' collection). The owner of this insignea wrote in "Soldat Vol. 8" page 94 : "Members of the Luftlande Sturm Regiment and, after it was disbanded, its Traditionseinheit, the 12th Parachute Regiment, sometimes sewed or pinned handmade 'shooting stars' (actually comets) to their caps." On the same page, a picture, probably from the BA is showing an officer (probably in Italy) wearing his M43 with the comet insignea. German paratrooper steel helmets with this unit insignea painted on one of the side are also known.

3) Two collectors have Soldbucher with an entry dated 1st May 1945 for this unit insignea named "Traditionsabzeichen "Sturm-Rgt"".
The insignea or photo which are showing this distinctive unit insignea worn are rare.
I have been in contact with Wilhem Rüter, a former member of the 16./LL-Sturm-Rgt.. He passed away last February. During the Summer, a dealer sold around 300 photos (mostly taken in Crete) from this veteran on Ebay Deutschland. It was for me a shock as I didn't knew that this gentlemen was dead. Around 80 auctions have been made with his photo collection. I get those original photos which are showing him and his mates in Brittany by the end of 1943 or the begining of 1944 when he was in the Fallsch. Pi. Btl. 3.

Photos of this unit insignea are extremely rare !

So, I am sending for Comet's enthusiasts real unique photos of this insignea worn in France by 1943/1944. After the invasion, W. Rüter fought in Normandy and the Bulge.
One or two of those insigneas have been found by collectors with a metal detector near Brest (Brittany) in an ex-POWs camp few years ago (probably worn by ex-members of the LL-Sturm-Rgt who have been captured in Normandy).
I will be pleased to hear some of yours (maybe Mr. Chris Mason) which are also interested in this unit insignea. Thank you in advance.


Jean-Yves Nasse

P.S: Many thanks to Prosper K. for the scans !

[JYN]

Photo N°1

[JYN]

Photo N°2



Wilhelm Rüter is on the left !

[JYN]

Photo N°3

[JYN]

Soldbuch from Fw. Kraus

[Tommy]

JYN

Yes i saw it by Ebay...but someone have bit for all auctions 100 Euro....Then the Auction was finally he wouldn't pay the photos....
Oh yes and i would so a photo but it was too expencive price...

[Willi Z.]

I too am quite the Komet enthusiast and was especially gratefull to JYN who provided the Soldbuch information to me last year, proving that this emblem was issued. In addition to the photo that Chris shared for us all in his "Soldat" volume, it was great to see another photo (this time in France) of the Komet being worn on headgear. I have a picture of a helmet with a black Komet on it, and am extremely fortunate to own one of the two known FJ camo helmets with the "shooting Komet". The other known one is identical in Komet details, camo paint and even the wear. I have seen several bogus Komets on both helmets and caps. A few know original Komets in metal are known to exist and these too are copied.

Here is 2 quick pics of my helmet. Not sure if it came from Tunisa (which seems most likely based on the black Komet) or Italy, where the Sturm Regiment's 4 battalion's became FJR12 as part of the 4th Fallschirmjäger Division. Each of the 4 battalions had their own color of Komet (red, green, yellow and blue). The 4th Division also used the Komet as it's Divisional insignia (red and blue). FJR5 used black and also white as Komet colors. And, FJR6 was formed from IV./ LL Sturm Rgt, which then fought in France in 1944.

Willi

[JYN]

Hi Willi,

Thank you for your post and for your interest in this unit insignea. Probably this Comet is more common that we thought. I am questioning some survivors from the LL-Sturm-Rgt about it.

Jean-Yves

[ManuelR]

here you can find the comet in the cover of a fjsrgt photo album ,it is from luftlande sturm rgt 1 ,4 battaillon.regards to all manuel

[Ian Tannahill]

Giday everyone,

On page 134 of the book entitled "German Paratroops", by Robert Kurtz, Chris Mason states:

"Before the falling star, or comet (Komet) became standardized as a tactical marking for the famed Sturm Regiment, the device of a diving eagle clutching a bomb was used as a unit symbol" and,

"This very rare period book by Walter Gericke, Commander of the IV. Bataillon of the Sturm Regiment, is titled "From Maleme to Chania, Battle and Victory of the Sturm Regiment." The cover depicts the early diving eagle of the Sturm Regiment, which apparently preceded the Komet as a symbol of the unit."

However, Jean-Yves comments above about men of the IV Bataillon painting Komets on their tropical helmets after the battle of Crete and Manuel's photo album seem to contradict Chris's comments. What does everyone else think about this?

My understanding is that the men of Sturmabteilung Koch formed the basis of the Sturm Regiment. I have a photograph of Walter Koch, taken soon after the events of 10 May 1940. The photograph shows him driving in a car and wherein a komet is painted on one of the front wheel guards. This would suggest that the komet was being used as a tactical symbol of Sturmabteilung Koch in May 1940.

I have another photograph taken before 10 May 1940 which shows members of Sturmabteilung Koch attempting to scale a wall in training. Written beneath the photograph are words to the effect, "the komets are coming".

Where does the symbol of a diving eagle clutching a bomb fit in?

Are Chris' coments correct?

I look forward to reading everyone's replies.

All the best,

Ian

[Willi Z.]

Interesting comments Ian, and great album cover Manuel.

The diving eagle clutching the bomb does not fit in, it was never a Sturm Rgt emblem. It is for the Condor Legion. I will leave it at that and let Chris explain.

Ian, is there any way you could post those pictures on here?

Regards,

Willi

[Chris]

Unfortunately, unlike some of the experts in the FJ hobby, who began collecting FJ within the last decade, or who stopped learning a long time ago and then bought phoney M-37 paras for $8000 (many of whom do not even speak or read German), I've only been collecting this stuff and attending veteran reunions in Germany for 20 years, so I'm still learning. Therefore I'm not going to make any absolute pronoucements about "they did this" or "they never did that." I wasn't there, and God does not speak to me personally.

The Kurtz book says "apparently" the diving eagle insignia was used before the falling star was adopted, based on three pieces of evidence:

(1) The book about the Sturm Regiment (written by Sturm Regiment officer Gericke) illustrated in the Kurtz book has this insignia on the cover and no other.
(2) The badge shown with it was given to me by a Sturm Regiment veteran at one of the Sturm Regiment reunions in the early 1990s which I attended as a guest speaker invited by Schirmer.
(3) The veteran who gave it to me claimed he wore this on his side cap in the very first days of the LLSTR.

I have never seen this in any period photos so far (I've only seen about 60,000 photos of the Fallschirmjäger so far in the German and French archives), so I cannot vouch for the practice beyond that. Maybe one will turn up one day (for years the "experts" said there was "absolutely no such thing" as an SS Fallschirmjäger cufftitle, until the Marcus Eifler photo turned up a couple years ago.) In the meantime I'll just go on collecting and hanging out with veterans, and leave the absolute pronouncements of facts to the experts. Chris

[Tommy]

Chris

Hello chris...


Why do you so angry..???
I have seen so many 'experts' but nothing can say he know everything.

It is so who do you write ,you learn through others collectors and trough Veterans....

I know there is a Sturm regiment history by a german Verlag....This book is: Der blaue Komet....
I have learned many Veterans and connections....
Unfortenately many connections are broken then the Veterans died...or you have lost his adress....

[JYN]

Hi again,

I am glad that Comet enthusiasts did participated at this thread.

Concerning the early diving eagle of the Sturm Regiment; as I do not have any copy of this book in my collection, let us know when this book came out. The diving eagle as part of an unit distinctive insignia has been used several of times by germans during WWII. Is it only the symbol of the 4th Bataillon; a heavy Bat'. ?

Jean-Yves

[Prosper Keating]

I don't understand why Chris Mason is so annoyed. As for his sideswipe at people who haven't been collecting FJ stuff for as long as two decades, does this mean that anything I say is invalid in his eyes?

Mind you, I have been hanging with veterans, as he puts it, for a bit longer than that. I couldn't afford to collect FJ stuff until quite recently as I wasn't sufficiently solvent. But I collected knowledge and information instead.

(for years the "experts" said there was "absolutely no such thing" as an SS Fallschirmjäger cufftitle, until the Marcus Eifler photo turned up a couple years ago.)

The image shows an SS man on his wedding day, wearing everything but the kitchen sink in terms of badges and awards. His EK2 hangs by its ring from an SS runic lapel pin. And yes, on his left sleeve is an SS-style cuff title bearing the partially visible word |"Fallschirmjaeger" (I'm on an unfamiliar keyboard here so the umlatt can't be found...nothing to do with not being fluent in German).

No SS-Fallschirmjaeger cuff title was ever instituted. Period. Members of SS-FJ Btl 500/600 from other units usually wore the insignia of their parent unit if they came from one of the SS units with its own insignia. Walter Hummel, who served with the 500 and 600, wore his "Deutschland" cuff title and shoulder-strap "D" cyphers all the way through.

Some leery young SS paras, like the man in the Eifler photo, doubtless did have a few SS-style cuff titles made up for posing purposes but anyone caught wearing one under any circumstances at all would have been, at the very least, hauled up in front of the CO for a major roasting.

Men who had served with FJ Regiments 1, 2 and 3 in 1939 and 1940 would sometimes wear their old regimental cuff titles on special occasions long after the insignia were abolished. Period photos show this and veterans confirm it.

But while the practice was against regulations, the FJ regimental cuff titles had officially existed. So a blind eye could be turned if a few veterans put on their old cuff titles for an anniversary or some other unit level function. However, they did not wear them on parade or on guard duty or any other formal occasion.

But there can be no parallel in this with the wearing of an SS-Fallschirmjaeger cuff title. An SS cuff title was not just a unit badge. It was an honour in the gift of Himmler or, occasionally, Hitler. In one case, that of the Hitlerjugend, the cuff title was not just a unit honour but an actual award.

Many SS units, including SS-FJ Btl 500/600, never received a cuff title of their own. Members of such units usually wore any cuff titles and related insignia from their previous or parent units if they came from units with their own insignia. An SS man putting an unofficial SS cuff title on his sleeve would not just have been deemed guilty of transgressing a minor regulation but would have been seen as committing an act of gross disrespect to the SS cuff title as a special privilege. He'd have drawn flak not just from his superiors but from most of his comrades too. No wonder the Eifler photo only came to light recently: it was probably hidden away by the man in question!

But like Chris, I wasn't there and God doesn't speak to me. And I haven't been collecting FJ stuff for twenty years. Not yet, anyway. All I have to go is the word of Siegfried Milius, former SS-Hauptsturmfuehrer and CO of SS-Fallschirmjaeger Btl 600. Herr Milius was quite emphatic on the issue of the alleged SS-Fallschirmjaeger cuff title: it never existed and he, his officers and his NCOs would have taken a very, very dim view of any "cowboy" - as he put it - caught wearing one under any circumstances.

Of course, there are "experts" in SS insignia who have long contended that no such thing as an SS-FJ cuff title existed but who did not have the good fortune to hear this personally from one of the unit's COs. They just had SS records to reply upon.



PK